"So your opinion, we need a story to highlight the selling point of Diet Pepsi? Right?" asked Ronald's old friend, creative director Darcy Maguire.

"Yes, I have seen all the recent Diet Pepsi ads. You have invited many Hollywood stars, but you always highlight the stars themselves. Diet Pepsi is a product that the public does not know much about, so why not highlight the product itself?

, what are the characteristics that make young people like them?" Ronald replied.

Niceta contacted Ronald's old partner. Darcy Maguire was very happy to learn that Ronald could come back to the world. He immediately contacted the Pepsi project and asked him to direct a small TV commercial.

Her current big client is Pepsi-Cola. Recently, Pepsi-Cola has fired its old marketing director and has begun to reorganize its advertising ideas and re-select advertising companies. She really wants to keep this big client.

"Which star do you think is more suitable, Ronald? They found Billy Crystal last year." Maguire asked.

"I heard that Pepsi's advertising slogan is 'the choice of the new generation'? Why did you choose a middle-aged comedian? Wait, they are looking for celebrities to star in the advertisement. They have a sufficient budget?" Ronald suddenly discovered the problem.

"Hahaha, yes. Pepsi is beating Coca-Cola very hard now. They want to increase their advertising budget and truly become the winner of the cola war. This is a good opportunity, Ronald. As long as you are willing to take action, I will win the new season.

The possibility of advertising contracts is very high.”

"Of course, we have known each other for a long time, so I speak frankly. The cash for the new movie's release budget is a bit tight now, and I hope to be able to pay it as soon as possible."

It turns out that after the sales of the new flavored cola launched by Coca-Cola last year increased in the first few months, the overall sales began to decline again.

The formula of New Coke has a softer and smoother sweetness. This new taste is loved by consumers who often drink Coke in big cities such as New York and Los Angeles. Market surveys show that their willingness to buy New Coke is as strong as that of old Coke.

Coke hasn't changed much.

However, in the southern states, New Coke's sales suffered a setback, and PepsiCo largely occupied the previously stable market.

The Chicago Tribune, where film critic Gene Sisco works, also published a special report specifically describing the cultural resistance to the new flavor of Coke in southern states.

Those states all belonged to the Confederacy during the Civil War, and the Coca-Cola Company, headquartered in Atlanta, has always been regarded by the Southerners as one of the few products that could conquer the Yankees in the North.

The new flavor of Coke was viewed by the Southerners as a capitulation move based on Yankee tastes. Many consumers in southern states originally believed that Coca-Cola represented the South, while Pepsi, headquartered in New York, represented the North.

The new flavor has added sweetness. It is a Pepsi-Cola imitating the Yankees. It is a surrender to the Yankees. It is the Yankees who once again conquered the South.

"This is too exaggerated. How can Coke be related to the Civil War?" Ronald actually doesn't like New Coke, but he is just used to the old taste. What is the conflict between the North and the South, and what is the cultural inheritance?

Relationship?

"What's even more exaggerated is that some Southerners think this is a Cuban conspiracy."

"Huh? What's going on?" Ronald was stunned.

It turns out that the new flavor of Coke made residents living in small towns in the South very dissatisfied. Unlike residents of big cities such as New York and Los Angeles, they often drink other flavors of drinks and appreciate the ability to tolerate innovative flavors.

The carbonated drink that small town residents drink their whole lives is Coca-Cola.

After the old taste they had been drinking for half a lifetime was replaced, they felt something was wrong, so many conspiracy theories emerged.

The Coca-Cola Company, who led this taste change, is the company's chairman and CEO Roberto Guzueta. He is a descendant of Cuban immigrants. His father escaped from Fidel and smuggled his family to Florida...

So residents of states close to the Caribbean began to spread the news that this was a conspiracy by Cuban leader Fidel to destroy America's capitalist tradition.

The Coca-Cola Company has a hotline to handle orders and complaints. After the new flavor was launched, the number of complaint calls per day increased from 400 to 1,500.

It is said that some people were very emotional, as if a relative in their family had died, and cried bitterly over New Coke's betrayal of American tradition.

"Those people really like conspiracy theories," Ronald shook his head after hearing this. In the Deep South, conservative evangelical religious forces are growing rapidly, and many farmers and small-town residents who are scornfully called "rednecks" by big cities do not

There was limited television, and there were no popular magazines that are common in big cities.

With little information, many things they cannot understand are often attributed to the conspiracy of anti-Christian elements.

"It's ridiculous. In fact, Cuba's Fidel also made a public statement saying that he didn't like the taste of New Coke. He called New Coke a symbol of America's degeneration. Coca-Cola was originally one of the few people in this imperialist country to like.

Everything was destroyed."

“Then Pepsi is making a lot of money, isn’t it?”

"Of course, why else would they put out a full-page ad in the New York Times saying Pepsi had won the decades-long Coke Wars."

Darcy Maguire gave Ronald a newspaper, which made Ronald laugh out loud.

Above, Roger Enrico, Pepsi's head of North American operations, announced a company-wide holiday to celebrate winning the Coke War.

“Pepsi’s sales increased by 14% year-on-year, so they want to increase investment in one fell swoop to defeat Coca-Cola.

What they are focusing on promoting this year is the sugar-free Diet Pepsi, which is a new trend that has started in big cities in the past two years. We start with diet to solve the weight problem."

"Pepsi's slogan is the choice of the new generation. In short, Billy Crystal can no longer be used. We have to find a star who can represent the image of young people to do this advertisement. Your advertising company should have survey data. Who has been in the past two years?"

Is he the most influential star in the eyes of young people?"

"Of course it's Michael J. Fox, but he's a movie star now, and movie stars don't do advertising."

Maguire replied that some advertising companies had contacted Fox and wanted to leverage his influence among teenagers, but without exception, they were all rejected by his agent.

"Wait a minute, don't say no so quickly, I'll give him a call."

"Hi, Ronald, how are you? I heard you've finished editing your new movie?"

Michael J. Fox has a very good relationship with Ronald. His famous work "Back to the Future" was the opportunity that Ronald proposed to change roles. After receiving the call, he deliberately found a time to meet with Ronald

Let's meet and chat.

"good……"

Ronald exchanged a few words with him and said, "I'm here this time to convince you to participate in a Pepsi commercial."

"Hey, I actually don't care about these. The price offered by PepsiCo is very good, but my agent said that the advertisement will affect my personal image and will be detrimental to my future movie shooting. So my attitude towards TV advertisements is to avoid them.

of."

"Why? Even though others say so," Ronald knew that he had to challenge this ancient Hollywood iron law this time, otherwise Michael J. Fox would not agree.

"Isn't that just the same thing? The image of movie actors should be used in movies. If they appear too much on TV, the audience will know the actor's image too well, which will have a negative effect on the role played in the movie."

"Michael, this reason may be true for other people, but it is completely false for you."

"Why?" It was Fox's turn to ask.

"You are a TV actor, have you forgotten? God, the audience sees you on TV every day, and your image has long been stereotyped as an independent, smart, and street smart young man who goes to the big city to work hard."

"Haha, that's true." Michael J. Fox laughed. He first became famous in the TV series "Ties", and "Back to the Future" came later.

"There used to be legends in Hollywood that if you act in movies, you cannot act in TV series, and vice versa. The two acting methods are very different, and actors cannot do both. But haven't you achieved great success across both movies and TV?"

"You are absolutely right." Michael J. Fox took out a new cigarette and lit it with the old one. "I can promise, Ronald. But you have to promise that it will be your personal guidance. I don't want to

When shooting a simple and repetitive advertisement, I hope it is an advertisement with a story, similar to my screen image, Marty in 'Back to the Future'."

Foxx put out the old cigarette that was about to burn out on the sole of Ronald's raised leg. He smoked cigarettes very fiercely, one after another, which was a sequelae left behind by rushing to film a TV series.

"I'm ready. Here's the script. Take a look." Ronald looked down and saw a scar burned by a cigarette butt on the sole of his shoe. Fortunately, no one saw it underneath.

"Ah, hahaha..." Michael J. Fox was very happy after reading the short three-page script. Ronald wrote this script according to his own star image, and it is in line with the ideas of Pepsi's younger generation.

"I accepted it. This script is very interesting. It is a replica of the 'Secret of Success' story. No problem." Fox took another puff of cigarette, "By the way, who do you plan to cast as the heroine? Is it you?

My girlfriend Helen? That’s not bad, it’s like a warm-up advertisement for our movie.”

"This...?" Ronald didn't expect Fox to mention Helen, and he couldn't deny that he always wanted to find her. After all, when he asked Helen Slater to replace the heroine, he was hiring Michael in the name of his girlfriend.

J. Fox helped cooperate, "I'll call Helen."

…

"Ronald, why did you think of asking me to act in this commercial?" Helen received Ronald's call and rushed to Ronald's apartment in the evening. She looked at Ronald with a pair of big blue eyes.

.

"Don't you know that movie actors don't accept TV commercials?" Helen pointed at Ronald with her finger, "I know, hehe. Are you regretting that you have never directed me in a movie? You want to use this advertisement to

Can you make up for your regrets a little bit?"

"Ah..." Ronald had no choice but to touch his beard. This could not be denied.

"You are so romantic, Ronald." Helen happily wrapped her hands around Ronald's neck, "I know you are actually regretting not directing 'The Secret of Success', right? Although I am a movie actor... but you

If you say so, I’m willing to go.”

"Um..." Ronald looked at Helen. Anyway, Helen's acting potential was limited. After a few movies, Ronald had basically confirmed that she could only play roles that matched her true nature.

Although she talks a lot about Broadway and acting theories, and even started an experimental theater company with her best friend Helen Hunt, her actual acting skills are far from these well-versed theories.

"Well, anyway, this role is similar to your screen image." Ronald replied.

"Well, I also want to try some different roles. My acting skills have improved a lot. But the role in this commercial is similar to 'Secret of Success', so I will treat it as a warm-up for the release of the movie.

"Helen replied.

"good……"

Ronald was about to say something, but he swallowed it back. Helen herself was still very pursuing.

But it doesn’t matter. In the one-and-a-half-minute commercial, Helen’s acting skills are always good. And the heroine I wrote is actually more like a vase.

As for the height difference between Helen and Michael J. Fox, anyway, I took into consideration that Fox was always shorter than the actress, so during the storyboarding, I tried my best not to let him and the heroine appear in the same shot.

"Ronald, in this script of yours, Fox and I don't have the same scene. When you wrote the script, did you write it in my image to prevent me from bending down and stepping in a ditch again to be as tall as him?"

Equivalent, right?"

"This...probably, maybe, this is what happened."
To be continued...